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Appalachian State University wrestling coach JohnMark Bentley announced the hiring of assistant coach Josh Pearce on Friday. Pearce has demonstrated a dedication to the sport of wrestling while exemplifying academic success outside the training room.

“I am excited about the addition of Josh to our coaching staff,” remarked Bently. “Josh has a tremendous amount of experience that will be extremely valuable to our upper-weights at ASU.” Pearce brings nine years of coaching experience to the Mountaineer program. He began his coaching career at his alma mater, Edinboro, in fall 2002 and later served another one year stint as assistant with the Fighting Scots. At the collegiate level, Pearce also served as head coach of the Penn State club team and assistant at Thiel College.More recently, the Greenville, Pa. native has served as coach in his hometown at Commodore Perry High School and at Greenville High School. He also completed one year as head trainer at House of Speed in Youngstown, Ohio.As a student-athlete, Pearce was the 2000 Eastern Wrestling League (EWL) heavyweight champion. A two-time NCAA Division I Wrestling Championship qualifier, he was also selected to the EWL and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference all-academic team. As a member of Edinboro’s wrestling squad, Pearce was the program’s first wrestler to become a five-time EU Student-Athlete Award honoree.At Commodore Perry High School, Pearce had a career record of 111-13 and was a two-time Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association state finalist.From 2004-06, Pearce trained at the United States Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. as an Olympic hopeful and resident athlete in freestyle wrestling.“I am very excited to have the opportunity to join the Appalachian State staff,” commented Pearce. “I truly believe in what Coach Bentley is doing here and the direction the program is headed, and I am fully committed to helping the program reach its goal of being a national power. Appalachian State is a great university that offers a top education along with state-of-the-art facilities.”Appalachian wrestling hits the mats for the start of the practice season next week. The Mountaineers are slated to compete in the Hokie Open hosted by Virginia Tech on Nov. 6 and return to Boone for their home-opener against Anderson and Belmont Abbey on Sunday, Nov. 13.